In order to maintain productivity during the coronavirus pandemic, many Ohio businesses were forced to find creative solutions to the challenges brought on by social distancing and work from home arrangements. One of the most significant breakthroughs came in the form of video conferencing, and it has worked so well for many companies that it has changed the way they conduct business altogether.
Here's how video conferencing benefits businesses:
Improves communication
Clear communication is critical to success in any field, so it goes without saying that every step toward its improvement should be taken seriously. This is especially true in today’s remote and hybrid workplaces, in which it's more challenging to keep team members engaged and in the loop. Even small businesses have out-of-office workers at any given time, which is why reliable video conferencing tools are more crucial than ever.
Helps strengthen relationships
It’s easy to make strong connections with coworkers and other business stakeholders when interacting face to face. That can be challenging these days, with many people taking precautions to limit in-person meetings, not to mention modern workplaces are no longer confined to only physical offices. Video conferencing bridges the gap between physical and virtual, as it allows workers to read body language and other verbal and nonverbal cues that are crucial to forming strong bonds.
Saves time and money
In business, every dollar and every second counts. Even tiny trickles of wasted time and money can quickly compound and become a headache of vast proportions. This is why smart managers seek solutions that can help manage these important business resources. Fortunately, video conferencing saves time and money in one fell swoop.
With video conferencing, workers no longer need to haul themselves out of their workstations to attend conferences and meetings. They don’t need to travel to other offices and get stuck in traffic on their way to a seminar. There’s also no need to spend so much money on travel expenses, accommodations, and the like. Important business activities like networking, meetings, and conferences can now be attended from any location.
Streamlines collaboration
Collaboration is the mantra of the modern workplace. It is how successful brands and businesses are able to draw out as much value as possible from their product and service lines. However, many managers worry that shifting schedules and work locations stifle collaboration. Thankfully, video conferencing takes care of this issue by allowing workers to brainstorm, debate, discuss, build, and execute plans even if they’re not all in the office. Video conferencing nowadays uses real-time audio and video, so information can be communicated as effortlessly as it would have been in person.
Increases productivity
With improved collaboration comes increased productivity. The biggest advantage of most existing video conferencing apps is that they can integrate seamlessly with productivity software, enterprise resource planning programs, and more. This allows workers to easily pull up documents, videos, spreadsheets, presentations, and other files they need to collaborate on, all while staying on the video call. This also allows them to instantaneously share feedback with superiors; no longer do they need to rummage around the office for hard copies of reports and other documentation.
Simplifies scheduling
Scheduling features in video conferencing apps are sometimes ignored, but they can be invaluable to operational efficiency. These features are good examples of automation at work, as they can be configured to save, display, and even remind you of your schedule throughout the day.
Just imagine this: In the middle of a video meeting, your boss decides to set a team-specific meeting for the following week. You immediately receive the virtual invite on your work phone, to which you respond as “Going.” It automatically saves the following week’s video call link in your calendar, and it reminds you of it on all your connected devices right before. How convenient is that?
Enables live events
Video conferencing isn’t limited to a handful of participants anymore, thanks to advances in technology. These days, companies can host organization-wide live events that have both in-person and virtual attendees. It’s a great way to hold traditional events like annual general meetings while also providing opportunities for time-strapped workers to attend from their homes or workstations.
Explore the ways technology can make your business operations smoother, cheaper, and better with North Shore Technologies. Contact us today to learn more about our services.